Iris Dean Payton

Published 8:33 am Friday, January 31, 2025

Funeral services were held Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at St. Paul M. B. Church, Bassfield, for Mrs. Iris Dean Payton, 59, who passed away on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Gulfport.

Rev. Henry L. Kelly officiated with interment at Wheeler Cemetery in Bassfield.

Johnson Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

She is the daughter of the late Evan and Joyce Harper. She was a member of St. Paul M. B. Church in Bassfield.

Mrs. Payton was a former laborer who loved reading, outdoors, bird watching and spending time with family and friends.

She had a special connection with eagles.

She is survived by her son, Albert Blake of Hampton, VA; daughter, Olivia Blake of Gulfport; mother, Joyce Harper of Bassfield; brothers, Ricky Harper of Oakvale; Roland Harper of Bassfield; Ernest Harper of Raleigh, North Carolina and

William Harper of Spencer, Oklahoma; sisters, Gayle Nelson of Jackson; Laronda Harper of Bassfield; 13 grandchildren and many other relatives and friends.